Hackett in, but still no head coach

The Raiders promoted advance scout Paul Hackett to quarterbacks coach, a team official confirmed Thursday. They have not, however, promoted Tom Cable to permanent head coach, no matter what ESPN and NFL Network are saying.

Both media powers cited unnamed sources in saying the Raiders have decided on Cable as their next head coach. Senior executive John Herrera said no decision has been made and that no press conference is scheduled for Thursday to announce such a move.

Here’s what is probably happening: it’d be safe to hedge a bet on Cable at this point, knowing it will probably happen soon. I think Cable is getting the job, too, but until the Raiders tell him the job is his — and they haven’t — it isn’t true. Not yet, at least.

Give them until next week. My guess — and it’s just an educated guess — is Tuesday. If they don’t do it by tomorrow (Thursday), they almost have to wait until after the Super Bowl because the league frowns on teams making big announcements during their big weekend.

Going back to things that are actually happening, the Raiders will interview longtime NFL assistant John Marshall for their defensive coordinator position later today.

They also brought in former Browns linebacker coach Mike Haluchak to interview for the same position Thursday.

Both candidates are expected to get the jobs, a league source said, but nothing’s official yet. Kind of like with Cable.

The Raiders also announced the hiring of defensive line coach Dwaine Board, a longtime 49ers player and assistant who wa smost recently with the Seahawks.

At this point, the only position-coach opening unaccounted for is offensive line — the position held by Cable. They also need an offensive coordinator, with Al Saunders the only known interview for the job so far.